Communicator of the Week: McDonald’s

24th June 2014 Blog 2 minute read

The football World Cup. A massive commercial opportunity for the biggest global brands, but how do they make the most of this occasion?

There are the player endorsements, the social responsibility projects but, most of all, there are the adverts. The first round of matches has seen record TV audiences – even in the UK. Every game is watched by many millions across all parts of the world so getting a good ad in place could be crucial to a brands global sales in 2014.

This is why every four years the big food, drink, sportswear and even car companies battle it out to produce the best ad. They are all beautifully produced with great videography or animations coupled with a well-chosen soundtrack. Frequently though the concepts can get over developed so the special effects or fantastical story detract from the message. As with any good piece of communication simplicity should be at the core of what you are trying to create.

This year’s raspberry must go to Beats by Dre who have produced an epic 5 minutes long ad which seems to suggest that you only get good at football if you train wearing Beats headphones. That said it has had nearly 19 million people watch it on YouTube.

Most ads this year share a similar feel to the Dre ad: that the World Cup is, they would have you believe, more important than anything else ever in the history of man. Yes, this is a relatively aspirational approach but lacks credibility. These brands are just taking themselves too seriously.

Beyond the pressure, the money, the bureaucracy and allegations of corruption in the game, football is supposed to be fun. This brings us to the McDonald's effort which is fun and quirky and resonates with anyone who has chucked two jumpers down for goalposts and started a kick about.

The ad is all about people doing trick shots and having fun. I suppose McDonald's would argue that it communicates what McDonald's is all about too. I’m not willing to go that far but it is an ad that catches your attention and holds it while making you smile and is why McDonald's are my Communicators of the Week.